Ivan Lebedev - Russia's Greatest Pro Wrestling Promoter

Tales of Russian pro wrestling and the most famous Russian pro wrestling promoter of all time.

I came across an interesting Russian article from 1960 that I thought is worth sharing. The article was published in the December 1960 edition of “Soviet Circus” magazine. The author is Aleksandr Shirai, who was a Russian weightlifter (Russian national champion in 1922), bodybuilder, actor and circus director. The focus of the article is the most famous Russian pro wrestling promoter/matchmaker/referee Ivan Lebedev, but it also paints the overall picture of Greco-Roman pro wrestling in Russia when business was booming there and tells some interesting tales of big stars such as Ivan Poddubny, Georg Lurich and Stanislaus Zbyszko in shoot matches. I don’t know if all the claims in the article are true, but there sure are some interesting ones. Lebedev was active as a Greco-Roman pro wrestling promoter in 1904-1928 and there are several years where a strong case can be made that he was the top pro wrestling promoter in all of Europe at the time. 

In addition to the translated article, below I’ve also added some extra comments by me and they’re in [brackets].

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Parade, hello! - Whistle. - Music, march!.. In the arena in patent leather boots on plump short legs, in a Russian jacket of the finest cloth, a Russian cap with a patent leather visor, from under which intelligent eyes look, stands a man of average height, with the broadest shoulders. He has a full Russian face with an upturned nose and a small mustache above his plump lip. In his hand he holds a golden whistle on a thin gold chain. This is the famous Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev, nicknamed Uncle Vanya, referee and organizer [promoter] of the first professional wrestling tournaments in Russia, whose name is as popular as the names of the Durovs [a legendary Russian circus dynasty], Ivan Poddubny [the biggest pro wrestling name in Russian history], Bim-Bom [a legendary Russian clown duo]…

Ivan Lebedev pulling the ears of wrestlers Mikhail Yakovlev and Grigori Rusakov

While still a student, I. V. Lebedev became interested in athletics and wrestling. At that time he was a member of the St. Petersburg circle of Doctor Krajewski - the “father of Russian athletics”, in whose “office” many wonderful Russian heroes were born… 

[Dr. Wladyslaw Krajewski’s athletic circle, which then evolved into the St. Petersburg Athletics Society (club), was the premier sporting organization in Russia in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Amateur Greco-Roman wrestling was one of the main focuses of the club and the club promoted the first “Championship of Russia” amateur wrestling tournaments as well as some of the first pro wrestling tournaments in Russia. George Hackenschmidt was a member of the club and the club was the driving force behind his rise to fame in Russia. Later the club promoted Ivan Poddubny as the next big Russian pro wrestling star.]

Dr. Krajewski with members of the St. Petersburg Athletic Society including George Hackenschmidt (front, second right to left) and Ivan Lebedev (front, second left to right, looking at Hack):

Modern “gladiators” enter the arena in a line to the sounds of the “Entrance of the Gladiators”. The music doesn’t seem to be playing for them: everyone walks with their own gait, developed over the years, not at all in the rhythm of the march. The wrestlers step heavily onto the mat, as if they were not alive, but made of iron. Having walked around the arena, the “champions” stop, forming a closed circle; everyone takes their own “plastic” pose. Spectators already know each wrestler, his biography, wrestling style, muscle size. The orchestra freezes.

“This tournament is organized by me,” Uncle Vanya’s powerful voice reaches the most remote corners of the gallery, “for the world championship!” "The following wrestlers have arrived and signed up. The techniques of French wrestling [which is what Greco-Roman wrestling was known as back then in Russia]…"

Uncle Vanya organized the first wrestling tournament in Russia in 1904 at Circus Ciniselli. The success was colossal, and so was the financial income. But Ciniselli [the owner of the circus] was not one of those who shared income, and soon Uncle Vanya broke up with him. He persuaded the millionaire Eliseev to finance the wrestling tournaments, in return for which Lebedev provided his abilities and experience. The most popular champions were brought in from abroad. Multi-colored posters appeared on billboards and fences in St. Petersburg - portraits of medal-laden wrestlers with incredible muscles. The newspapers were full of sensational “information” about the wrestlers. Interest in the tournament was fueled by the fact that Ivan Poddubny participated in it. He had just returned from Paris, where he had a scandal during a World Championship meeting with Raoul le Boucher, a contender for the first place along with Poddubny. In Paris Poddubny, as the wrestlers say, was “combined” [I'm not sure what “combined” means in this context]. He did not receive a single defeat, but did not receive a prize. Raoul le Boucher was also invited to St. Petersburg, and his meeting with Poddubny promised to be sensational, since the Russian hero decided to take revenge.

[It’s true Lebedev’s first tournament was in 1904 in St. Petersburg at Circus Ciniselli, but this was not the first pro wrestling tournament in Russian history - tournaments had already been taking place for several years, although they weren’t as common as they were about to become. That said, Lebedev’s 1904 tournament was the highest-profile tournament to date and featured Poddubny going over Paul Pons in the final.

The millionaire that is mentioned is likely Grigoriy Grigorievich Eliseev of the Eliseev dynasty. I don’t know if he really was in business with Lebedev, but it sounds plausible. The timing of the split with Ciniselli is off, however. The article seems to suggest Lebedev split with Ciniselli and then Eliseev sponsored the 1904 tournament, which I don’t believe to be true. There was indeed a financial dispute with Ciniselli at the end of the tournament, not before it. Lebedev did work with Ciniselli again on a few occasions, but seemingly only as a referee.]

It is difficult now to imagine what passions flared up around the tournaments in those years. All levels of society were fond of circus wrestling. Every evening Uncle Vanya had to answer from the arena many questions that the audience asked from the seats: “How old is Lurich? How much does Chambers Zipps weigh? Is Aberg married? What is Zbyszko's chest size? Where is Zaikin? Uncle Vanya answered with lightning speed. He was a living encyclopedia in the field of wrestling and sports. True, his answers were not always accurate, but this was not required… “Cyclop Bienkowski weighs seven pood and forty pounds [267 lbs]! Drinks three samovars of tea! Alexander Aberg is a confirmed bachelor. Zbyszko-Cyganiewicz’s chest size is 131 centimeters [51 inches]! Ivan Zaikin is now boarding the train at Tyumen station to leave for St. Petersburg!”

Uncle Vanya, who spoke several languages, was, without a doubt, an educated man and an excellent businessman. His friends were Aleksandr Kuprin [writer], Feodor Chaliapin [singer], and the painters Grigoriy Myasoyedov and Valentin Serov. The pages of his magazine “Hercules” were decorated with drawings by famous illustrators; Myasoyedov drew the cover for it. Caricatures of Uncle Vanya could be seen in all newspapers and magazines of that time.

[In the pre-1918 years there were a bunch of Russian sports publications that covered pro wrestling extensively, and some of them were used as promotional tools, i.e. the publishers/editors of those magazines were also wrestling promoters and they’d use the publications to push their stars and tournaments. Lebedev, for example, briefly had “Illustrated Magazine of Athletics and Sports” in 1905 and then in 1912-1916 he published his more popular “Hercules” magazine. Victor Meyer was the publisher of “Sputnik Sportsmena” magazine and had an association with the Poddubny troupe for a few years. There was also Nikolai Petrov of “Sport” newspaper, who also promoted a number of tournaments. Other notable sports publications were the magazines "Sport", “Russian Sport” and “To Sports”.]

Uncle Vanya had remarkable talent as a director [in the wrestling context director is the equivalent of matchmaker/booker], and he had a lot of imagination. He invented the “role” [character] of the wrestlers - “amateurs”, “animals”, “comedians”. At the show, he knew how to drive the audience into a frenzy. The most respectable bourgeois would hit the barrier of the lodge with their fists and shout to the whole circus: “Wrong!” [This was what the audience would shout whenever they felt a wrestler had used an illegal move and especially if they felt the referee had made a wrong call]. Their prim, diamond-studded wives behaved no better than their husbands. A wrestler who defeated his opponent incorrectly had apples and sometimes even heavier objects thrown at them from the gallery. It happened that the police had to restore order in the auditorium. The wrestlers who played the roles of “villains” were often afraid to appear on the street.

Uncle Vanya came up with spectacular surnames for new wrestlers, handed out championship titles without any embarrassment, and it so happened that one tournament brought together a dozen and a half “world champions.” He began to demonstrate all kinds of competitions and strongman attractions, and came up with the first wrestling “black mask”, which became an indispensable character of any tournament.

[In 1909 Lebedev took the idea for a masked wrestler from a tournament in Vienna with the Zbyszko troupe. On and off, there had been masked wrestlers in European pro wrestling for decades, but by 1909 they had largely disappeared. Lebedev’s 1909 masked wrestler was a huge hit and led to a big wave of masked wrestlers in Russia. Back then Russia had more masked wrestlers than any other country in the world up to that point.]

Ivan Lebedev's first masked wrestler - Oskar Schneider under the hood

He found amateurs in every city, who drew him money, wrote books on athletics and wrestling, and published “Hercules” magazine, which advertised his champions. He raised interest in the tournaments to extraordinary heights, and he, in the end, killed this interest, bringing his directorial tricks to the point of absurdity, which the public no longer believed in.

Uncle Vanya liked to say: “As long as there are fools, there will be wrestling in the circus. There are enough fools for my lifetime." It was a pathetic “philosophy,” but at the circus box office there were still signs that read “sold out.” The result of his vigorous activity were two private apartment buildings in St. Petersburg, his own rather voluminous magazine and his own “business” with thousands of paying customers.

When all the wrestlers in St. Petersburg had already wrestled each other several times, Uncle Vanya found a little Japanese somewhere and made him into another bait for the audience (this was after the Russo-Japanese War). Announcements appeared on huge posters: “The famous Japanese jiu-jitsu wrestling specialist Sarakiki has challenged all the participants in the tournament and is betting 1,000 rubles against any wrestler!” Sarakiki was said to have a phenomenal arm grip and his grips were almost lethal for wrestlers. St. Petersburg became agitated. Uncle Vanya described in the newspapers how Sarakiki trains, how he breaks thick sticks with a blow of his palm, tears three decks of cards and compresses the strongest springs. Spectators flocked to watch the new miracle. Sarakiki did defeat everyone. As soon as he grabbed the opponent’s wrists, the opponent began to squirm, struggle, and eventually lay on his shoulder blades without performing a single offensive move. They were afraid of him. All the newspapers started talking about him.

Sarakiki

[Sarakiki wasn’t really Japanese, but was presented as such. He was actually from Manchuria. He was indeed recruited into pro wrestling by Lebedev and made his first appearance during a January 1907 tournament in Kyiv. Later that year he wrestled in St. Petersburg, but was nowhere near the unstoppable force the article suggests and lost matches to top stars such as Lurich, Aberg, Zbyszko, Cyclop and Pohl. In that same tournament he also lost a match to someone who was basically a jobber, although it turned out Sarakiki had been out drinking and was still drunk during the match so him losing may have been unplanned. Either way, while not as unstoppable as the article suggests, Sarakiki was definitely a popular attraction.]

The St. Petersburg Athletic Society was under the patronage of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. Interested in Sarakiki, he suggested to Uncle Vanya that he arrange a meeting between the Japanese and one of the strongest amateur wrestlers on the premises of the Athletic Club. Many years later, Uncle Vanya told the author of these lines that he found the Japanese in some St. Petersburg laundry. He had no idea about jiu-jitsu or French wrestling. The trick with the strong grip was invented by Uncle Vanya himself, so the prince’s proposal excited him. On the day of the match, when the spectators - athletes, amateur athletes and other club members - had already gathered, Uncle Vanya began to process Sarakiki’s opponent. He felt terribly sorry for the amateur. The Japanese, he said, was furious and would crush the amateur into powder. The Japanese's pride is monstrous, and no matter how much Uncle Vanya persuades him not to cripple the amateur, he does not agree. The amateur's soul gradually sank into his heels; he was no longer glad that he got involved in this story. He stepped onto the carpet [back then they were wrestling on carpets, not mats or rings] as if onto a scaffold. The Japanese, in turn, figured out what to do if an amateur attacked him. Uncle Vanya recommended that he pretend to be crazy... As soon as the Japanese grabbed his opponent’s hands and squeezed them a little, the amateur turned green with fear and fell on his shoulder blades. They poured water over him, and Uncle Vanya showed everyone some non-existent bruises and assured that the amateur miraculously did not remain crippled for life. This absolutely fantastic incident strengthened the popularity of the Japanese; he quit the laundry and began to travel with the tournament, after some time gaining fame as a phenomenal wrestler.

In approximately the same way, Uncle Vanya made fun of one of the most famous wrestlers - world champion Georg Lurich. A winner of many tournaments, Lurich was a truly magnificent, strong and technical wrestler. Deciding to play a prank on his prime star, Uncle Vanya told him that an amateur would like to wrestle him. Club members allegedly bet a large amount against the champion. They claimed that Lurich would not be able to put down the amateur. Lurich laughed it off for a long time, but finally got angry and agreed to meet the amateur. Uncle Vanya immediately spoke about this both at the tournament and in the club. He praised the amateur terribly. He insisted that he had never met such a phenomenon, that he was a man of terrible strength, despite his low weight, and most importantly, that he was an unusually cunning and intelligent opponent, the inventor of some completely new techniques that Uncle Vanya had allegedly never seen. It was already too late for Lurich to refuse. Everyone had heard that the challenge was accepted, and the prestige of the champion did not allow Lurich to back down.

Georg Lurich

The match took place. Lurich's opponent was some funny student, a very average amateur. Uncle Vanya taught him how to behave during a match. The athletes and spectators had never seen such a match before. The student took some incredible poses and downright hypnotized the champion. Lurich, confused, was afraid of falling for the “terrible” trick that Uncle Vanya had warned him about. Twenty minutes of wrestling had elapsed - Lurich had not put down the amateur, because he did not even try to do so. Later, Uncle Vanya confessed everything to Lurich, and his anger was indescribable. He broke up with Uncle Vanya and left the tournament along with his "brother" Aberg. They opened their own “business”. Lurich's enormous popularity was deserved, although, of course, his success also depended on the fact that he was almost always the manager [booker] of the tournament in which he wrestled. At that time there were a lot of wrestlers of Lurich’s class.

[On and off Lebedev was doing business with the Lurich/Aberg troupe up until 1908 and then he focused on running his own troupe and creating his own stars so there may be something to the story of a split between Lebedev and Lurich. Although it should be said Lurich had his own troupe before Lebedev got into pro wrestling so the part about Lurich opening his own “business” after a split with Lebedev isn’t quite correct. In short, Lurich was running his own shows, then he was in business with Lebedev, and then they went their separate ways.]

Soon the name of Uncle Vanya became popular in the provinces, since there was no circus where his tournament or a branch of his tournament, wasn’t wrestled. The rest of the referees tried to imitate him in everything, even in appearance. For many years, his directorial tricks were adopted, until the first cry was heard from the auditorium; "Bench!". The years 1914-1917 were the “swan song” of circus tournaments, although it was at this time that they reaped the richest harvest.

[Greco-Roman pro wrestling continued to exist in Russia until the late 1960s or maybe early 1970s, although in different format compared to anywhere else in the world, but it is true that the peak was before 1918. I don’t think 1914-1917 was the absolute peak of it. My impression is that the peak started a few years earlier and continued to stay hot up until maybe 1916-17. Either way though, post-1910 if not a couple of years prior, Russia was the number one territory for pro wrestling in Europe.]

Despite the behind-the-scenes “combinations,” a good circus tournament was a significant event from a sporting point of view. Wrestlers in those days trained a lot. They knew the technique of wrestling and working with weights well. These were truly strong people. Sports in Russia were just emerging at that time, and there were only a few athletes, especially in the provinces. Amateur beginners had no one to learn from, no one to follow as an example, except circus athletes and wrestlers. Young people went to the circus to watch not only “animals” and “comedians,” but also masters of sports with magnificent figures that impressed them. And the wrestling was sometimes not carried out according to the manager’s plans. Professional wrestlers valued their name very much: their material well-being depended on their reputation as a wrestler. The result of the matches was often predetermined by the fact that, traveling from city to city, the wrestlers wrestled each other many times and knew well who would win.

Athletes know how much more visually interesting a masterful demonstration of wrestling technique is than serious [real] wrestling. For example, in 1914 in Kyiv, an amateur phenomenon, the Black Sea Fleet diver Danilo Posunko challenged the famous Zbyszko-Cyganiewicz [Stanislaus Zbyszko] to a real competition. The opponents wrestled in a standing position for two hours, without performing a single hold and without ever being on the ground. From a sporting point of view, it was an outstanding amateur triumph, but the spectators watching the match were clearly bored. But when, say, Lurich met with Alexander Aberg or Ivan Spul, or Klementi Bull wrestled Christian Weiland-Schulz, it was a spectacle of virtuoso technique, dexterity and beauty.

Ukrainian pro wrestler Danilo Posunko

Professional wrestling was an agitator for beauty, agility, and strength. Amateurs began to “pump up their muscles” and became seriously interested in athletics and wrestling. They entered the circus for wrestling training (and the training was always interesting and athletic!), and invited wrestlers to their clubs. And many young athletes were created by the same Uncle Vanya! He was an excellent teacher and coach and loved young people very much. His books on athletics have not lost their educational value even now, especially if we take into account that we are often motivated by “results”, and the desire to have a beautiful, athletic figure is inherent in few people. Professional wrestlers have played a positive role in the development of youth health. Who didn’t want to be like Klementi Bull, George Hackenschmidt, Sergei Eliseev, Sergey Dmitriev-Morro, William Moor-Znamznsky, Peter Kryloff, Konstantin Stepanov, Carlo Milano, Alexander Aberg, Alexander Schwarzer, Sailor Ivan Borichenko, Ivan Spul! What remarkable muscles many wrestlers and athletes possessed! Some really looked like marble come to life, classical sculptures. And what power MANY athletes demonstrated in the circus! This was also excellent propaganda. It would not be harmful for modern amateur athletes to organize not only sports competitions, but also evenings to demonstrate their skills.

It happened that for some reason a circus wrestler would leave the arena and open their own school. These schools also played a positive role. Uncle Vanya, whose slogan was “In a healthy body - a healthy spirit”, always attended sports clubs in the cities where he toured and worked with young people for free. Without further ado, he took off his famous undershirt and took on the “doubles,” with which he worked superbly: he squeezed them in different ways, juggled, and showed difficult strongman tricks with them. His specialty was “curling”: he “curled” about six pood [262 lbs]! He immediately switched to the wrestling mat and did not keep any “secrets.” He offered to feel his biceps, and he had them like they were made of steel. He truly loved the sport, loved its followers and knew how to captivate anyone.

Uncle Vanya's last major tournament was the tournament at the Second State Circus in Moscow in 1922 with the participation of the “champion of champions” Ivan Maksimovich Poddubny. It included only Russian wrestlers, mainly Muscovites - Nikolai Bashkirov, Sergey Pafnutyev, Nikita Titov, Mironov, Filip Kapturov, Hadji Murat.

Ivan Lebedev's tournament in Moscow in 1922 (Ivan Poddubny to the right of the masked wrestler)

[I don't agree with the statement that Lebedev's final major tournament was the 1922 Moscow one. He had others after that too, including two big ones in Moscow.]

The appearance of I. M. Poddubny in the parade was celebrated with special pomp. He came out after the presentation of the entire tournament; the wrestlers met him, standing in two ranks, like a uniform. Poddubny’s figure cannot be assessed from photographs: this could only be done when he appeared among the wrestlers. When Poddubny entered the parade, no matter what its composition, all the wrestlers seemed to become thinner and smaller. Poddubny’s shoulder width was phenomenal. And his wonderful chest with a huge amount of plastic muscles! His iron muscles are not visible in the photographs. You had to look at Poddubny at the moment of tension: under the thin skin, the muscles, amazing in relief, came to life. The manner in which he wrestled was an accurate reflection of his character. Poddubny never “walked towards the enemy”, but, turning after a handshake, took his famous “stance”, slightly raising one hand higher than the other, and waited. At the beginning of the match, he always looked almost sleepy, only watchful eyes gleamed from under his eyebrows. Everything about him seemed relaxed - and it was. Poddubny, like no one else, knew how to relax, and at the same time he had a quick reaction like no one else. If in his manner of movement he resembled a bear, then in his instant reaction he resembled a tiger. He could calmly take the enemy by the hands, then phlegmatically put his hands on his neck, and... suddenly the enemy dived nose-first into the carpet! This was one of Poddubny’s famous moves. Poddubny’s ability to get into a technique was amazing. He knew a lot of deceptive pressures and feints. This is nothing new in wrestling, but Poddubny had his own ways of distracting the enemy.

Ivan Poddubny as he looked in his prime

The tournament in Moscow did not last long, and Uncle Vanya moved to the provinces. There were no longer any real partners for Poddubny. Essentially, he did not wrestle, but tried, as it were, not to crush anyone by accident. He needed different opponents, although some young wrestlers called him “old man” behind his back. Poddubny soon taught one of them a good lesson. In 1924, a tournament was held in the Kharkiv Circus. Poddubny was invited in order to raise ticket sales. He arrived. The premier [top wrestler] in the tournament was the wonderful Georgian wrestler Kola Kwariani. He was a handsome man with a magnificent figure - a strong, resilient and dexterous athlete. When it was his turn to wrestle Poddubny, Kwariani did not agree with Poddubny’s proposal: wrestle for 18 minutes, and Kwariani had to lie down [lose]. Lie down? The premier? Lose to an old man? Oh no!

Kola Kwariani

“Well, son, let’s do bur” said Poddubny peacefully. “Bur” in wrestling terminology, means “serious” [“Bur” is the Russian spelling of the French term "bourre", which was the early 20th century term for a real/shoot pro wrestling match]. Kwariani arrogantly, “like an eagle,” flew at Poddubny. He was really confident in himself, but he faced a kind of stone mountain. After half a minute, he realized what the famous “old man” was and tried to avoid defeat. Poddubny was no longer a clumsy bear. One! Two! Three! He knocked Kwariani off his feet as if Kwariani were an inexperienced boy, without even trying to put him down. The premier began to run away from Poddubny and the carpet, grabbed the barrier... Kwariani was as agile as a cat, but the cat fell into the paws of the tiger. After three or four minutes, “the old man” scooped up the squirming premier, shook him and with a sharp movement threw him like a sack to the ground. Kwariani was carried away from the arena unconscious. It was, of course, cruel, but in the spirit of the unwritten laws of professional wrestling. Poddubny defended his name and, at 53 years old, still did not want to become an old man. A year later, at the age of 54, he successfully defended his name and the honor of his Motherland in America!

Hiding behind the brands of various organizations, Uncle Vanya managed to organize championships until the early forties [I can only confirm that he was promoting until 1928, when the Russian scene was forced to reorganize, but it is possible he continued running things behind the scenes even after that]. He also invited them to circuses, of which he was listed as the “head of the artistic department.” During this period, Uncle Vanya showed himself in a new capacity: he began to act as a clown entertainer! I don't know if I've ever seen a more original, funny and witty entertainer than him. Uncle Vanya himself wrote poetry for his conference and did it with extraordinary speed. The conference was always satirical. Spectators went not to watch the program, but to watch Uncle Vanya. He talked to the audience, “rooted” for the artists, and made funny remarks. It was a "carpet", although not the kind we are used to in the circus. Uncle Vanya even did... cascades! He suddenly fell awkwardly (and most importantly, it was so rare and unexpected) that if he had done even a double somersault instead, it would hardly have made a greater impression.